Bisphenol A Officially Declared Toxic by Canada

(FoodProductionDaily.com – Rory Harrington)

Canada became the first country in the world yesterday [October 13] to declare bisphenol A (BPA) to be a toxic substance that poses risks to human health and the environment. The announcement by the Canadian Health and Environment Ministries confirmed the chemical had formally been added Schedule 1 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999).

“The Government of Canada has a strong record of taking action on Bisphenol A to protect the environment and health of Canadians,” said Environment Minister Jim Prentice. “We are continuing our leadership on this issue and...working hard to monitor and manage Bisphenol A.”

BPA is an industrial chemical used to make a hard, clear plastic such as re-usable polycarbonate baby bottles. It is also used in the manufacture of epoxy resins, which act as a protective lining on the inside of metal-based food and beverage cans. Read more here.

Canada Consumer Product Safety Act Consultation: Administrative Monetary Penalties

(International Law Office – Penny S Bonner and Martha A Healey, Ogilvy Renault LLP)

On August 25 2010 Health Canada announced another consultation on regulations under the proposed Canada Consumer Product Safety Act.

The intent of the proposed Administrative Monetary Penalties Regulations would be to provide details on how a penalty for a violation under the proposed act would be calculated, including ‘gravity factors’, weighting and penalty values. The regulations would:

• contain information classifying violations as minor, serious or very serious;

• identify how gravity factors of history and risk would be used to calculate the penalty; and

• provide for a range of penalties associated with the ‘total gravity values’.

This new consultation is the fourth such consultation launched by Health Canada over the last few months. Even though Health Canada is releasing consultation documents (as opposed to actual draft regulations), this activity shows a clear intent to move actively forward, or be seen to be moving forward, with draft regulations for the proposed act. In turn, this may be a sign that Health Canada will push swift passage of the proposed act once Parliament returns from the summer recess in September.

The consultation on the proposed Administrative Monetary Penalties Regulations is open for comment until November 7, 2010. Read more here.

AMPS Regulations Consultation

(Health Canada)

Regulatory Consultation on the proposal for the Making of Administrative Monetary Penalty (AMP) Regulations under the proposed Canada Consumer Product Safety Act has been posted on the Health Canada CCPSA website here.

Consultation Regarding Exemption Regulations under the Proposed Canada Consumer Product Safety Act

(Penny Bonner et al., Ogilvy Renault LLP)

On August 6, 2010, Health Canada announced that it would be conducting a consultation regarding proposed Exemption Regulations pursuant to the proposed Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (the “CCPSA”), which would provide stakeholders with the opportunity to provide their comments.

The proposed Exemption Regulations would exempt certain classes of consumer products from compliance with specified provisions of the proposed CCPSA or other regulations made pursuant to the CCPSA:

i. products manufactured domestically or imported into Canada then exported for sale;
ii. products which can be imported and then brought into compliance with the CCPSA; and
iii. products manufactured, imported or advertised for testing, research or exhibition.

The consultation document available for comment regarding Consumer Products Non-Compliant with Requirements in Regulations, can found by clicking here.

The exemption with respect to preparation and maintenance of documents is for any recipient of a consumer product where the consumer product is donated (i.e., given for no consideration) and the donation is from a person other than a manufacturer, importer, distributor or retailer.

The consultation document available for comment regarding Preparing and Maintaining Documents can found here.

Any comments related to these documents will be taken into consideration. These consultations are open for comment until October 19, 2010.

NEW on the Health Canada CCPSA Website: Exemption Regulations Consultation

(Health Canada)

Regulatory consultation on the proposal for the making of Exemption Regulations respecting consumer products non-compliant with requirements in regulations and preparing and maintaining documents under the proposed Canada Consumer Product Safety Act

Health Canada Considers Changes to Precautionary Labelling of Priority Allergens

(Lexology – Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP)

Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency are considering four potential policy options to update their position on precautionary labelling of priority allergens. Precautionary labelling allows manufactures to alert consumers that priority allergens may be in a food product, even where these allergens have not been intentionally added as an ingredient.

Currently, precautionary labelling is done on a voluntary basis. The four potential policy options are: an “enhanced voluntary” approach; an “enhanced voluntary approach with consumer notification;” a “mixed voluntary and regulatory approach; and a “regulatory” approach. Read more here.

Health Products & Food Branch Policy on Counterfeit Health Products

(Lexology – Jennifer Wilkie, Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP)

By a document posted May 14, 2010, the Health Products & Food Branch Inspectorate have set out guiding principles of Health Canada’s decision making framework for identifying, assessing and managing health risks to identify the issues of counterfeit health products. In the background of this document it is set out that, while these issues of counterfeit health products is infrequent, the document is intended to focus on potential vulnerabilities into the regulated supply chain which includes manufacturing, packaging, labelling, wholesaling, importation, distribution and sale of health products.

Counterfeit health products are described as follows:

“A counterfeit health product is one that is represented as, and likely to be mistaken for, an authentic product. Counterfeiting can apply to both branded and generic products, and could relate to a product’s identity or source, could include products with the corrected ingredients/components, with the wrong ingredient/components, without active ingredients, with insufficient active ingredients or with misleading packaging or labelling.”

Read more here. Additional information is available from Health Canada here.

Health Canada Seeks Public Input on Changing Regulations for Food Colouring

(Health Canada via The Canadian Press)

Health Canada is seeking public input on proposed changes to improve labelling requirements for colouring agents in food products. A consultation forum will be posted on the Health Canada website and open for comments from February 18 until May 4, the federal department said Thursday.

Canadian Food and Drug Regulations currently allow manufacturers to use the general term "colour" to specify one or more food colours. For the majority of prepackaged foods, manufacturers may voluntarily declare individual colours by name at their own discretion.

"However, there is some evidence suggesting a link between consumption of certain food colours and adverse reactions in sensitive individuals," the department said in a release. "More recently, certain food colour mixtures have been associated with behavioural effects in children. For these reasons, Health Canada considers it prudent to improve labelling requirements for food colours."

Proposed changes would eliminate the option of using the general term "colour" and require that individual colours be identified on food ingredient labels, enabling consumers to make informed choices that could reduce adverse reactions.

Health Canada said it will update progress on the issue once the consultation period has ended.

Comments on proposals may be submitted by regular mail to:

Bureau of Chemical Safety
251 Sir Frederick Banting Drive
Health Canada, Tunney's Pasture
Address Locator: 2203B
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0L2

To comment electronically, email bcs-bipc@hc-sc.gc.ca, using the words "Food Colour Labelling" in the subject box.

Health Canada Consulting on Policy Options for Precautionary Labelling of Priority Allergens on Pre-Packaged Foods

(Benzinga)

In 2007, Health Canada initiated a policy review on the use of precautionary labelling of priority allergens on pre-packaged foods. The department has now completed its review and is preparing to consult with stakeholders and the Canadian public on the various policy options.

The public consultations will be carried out in two phases: a web consultation which, once online, will be open to the public for a period of 90 days; and regional workshops with key stakeholders that will be held in November and December 2009. For more information on the consultations, please visit Health Canada’s website.

Canada Gets Serious About Consumer-Product Safety

(Law.com – Peter Pliszka and Richard Butler, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin)

Manufacturers, importers, retailers and advertisers that sell products in Canada can expect to see a flurry of regulatory change relating to consumer products later this year. The activity – culminating in House of Commons Bill C-6, "An Act respecting the safety of consumer products" – stems from an increased focus by the Canadian government on the regulatory controls for consumer products.

Bill C-6, known colloquially as the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA), was introduced in Canada's House of Commons on January 29. If enacted into law as drafted, the CCPSA will reconstitute the federal organization Health Canada as a powerful regulator of consumer products, providing it with unprecedented authority to inspect and influence the supply chain for consumer goods.

The legislation currently governing consumer product safety in Canada is the federal Hazardous Products Act (HPA). Health Canada, the country's public health agency, is responsible for administration and enforcement of the HPA and its regulations, through its Product Safety Program. […]

The regulatory tools conferred upon Health Canada by the HPA are limited because they apply only to the list of products that fall within the scope of the HPA, and the powers are reactive in nature. At present, the HPA does not confer upon Health Canada any legislated authority to compel parties in the supply chain to initiate product recalls. Therefore, Health Canada must rely on the cooperation of private parties with respect to consumer product recalls.

As the Canadian government's vehicle for delivering an overhaul of consumer product regulation in Canada, the new CCPSA will repeal and replace Part I of the HPA. The CCPSA will apply to all "consumer products," other than exceptional products prescribed by regulation.

Read the complete article here.

Government of Canada to Evaluate 17 Additional Substances Under the Chemicals Management Plan

(Health Canada)

Canada’s Minister of Health, Leona Aglukkaq, and Minister of the Environment, Jim Prentice, announced [March 13] that the Government of Canada is beginning to assess 17 substances included in batch 9 of its Chemicals Management Plan. Of the 17 substances, 12 were identified as being of possible concern to the environment and five were identified as being of possible concern to human health.

With the completion of this batch of chemicals, the Government of Canada will have completed two-thirds of its commitment to review 200 substances in 12 batches identified as high-priorities for action. The Government continues to meet its commitment to Canadians by reviewing a new batch of substances every three months.

Public summaries, which contain information about the substances in Batch 9, including where they are found and how they are used in Canada, are available on the new Chemicals at a Glance page. For more information, please visit the Chemical Substances website.

Health Canada Reaffirms Safety of BPA for Use in Metal Food Packaging

(MarketWatch)

North American Metal Packaging Alliance (NAMPA) working with Canadian government and infant formula manufacturers to develop industry code of practice for infant formula

[Friday]'s announcement by Health Canada regarding completion of its assessment of bisphenol A (BPA) offers reassurance to Canadians that the use of this chemical in the production of epoxy resins in metal food and beverage packaging presents no risk to consumers.

In issuing its decision, Health Canada released several proposed "risk management measures" as required elements of Canada's regulatory process, or Chemicals Management Plan, for BPA. Among the steps to be taken is the Canadian government's application of the ALARA principle, or "as low as reasonably achievable" levels, of BPA in infant formula products for newborns and children up to 18 months. While Health Canada clearly acknowledged that exposure to BPA among infants and young children currently is below levels found to show adverse effects in appropriate animal testing, its action was based on a desire to enhance the protection already afforded to this population group. Read more here. Additional information on this subject can be obtained at the NAMPA website.

Health Officials Debate Standards for Food Allergy Warnings

(CBC News – The Canadian Press/AP)

Health officials in the U.S. and Canada are debating setting standards for food allergy warnings, amid increasing concern that consumers are so confused they’re starting to ignore the warnings.

It’s one of the biggest frustrations of life with food allergies: That hodgepodge of warnings that a food might accidentally contain the wrong ingredient.

The warnings are voluntary – meaning there’s no way to know if foods that don’t bear them really should. And they’re vague: Is “may contain traces of peanuts” more reliable than “made in the same factory as peanuts?”

“Really, the safest thing you can do is make all your food at home from scratch, period,” says Margaret Sova McCabe of Sanbornton, N.H., whose son Tommie, almost eight years old, is allergic to peanuts, dairy, wheat and five other ingredients.

But she doesn’t find that practical – and repeatedly has spotted longtime favourite “safe” foods suddenly bearing new warnings that accidental contamination is possible after all.

“Sometimes we buy the product anyway, and sometimes we don’t,” says McCabe, who is a law professor and questions how often the warnings signal liability protection rather than true risk. “What does this really mean? Can I count on it, as a consumer, to really have any meaning?” she asks.

The Food and Drug Administration will ask those same questions at a public hearing on September 16, a first step toward developing what it calls “a long-term strategy” to clear the confusion. Read more.

Government of Canada Bans More Harmful Chemicals

(Environment Canada)

Canada’s Environment Minister, the Honourable John Baird, and the Minister of Health, the Honourable Tony Clement, announced today [Friday] that the Government of Canada will publish final regulations to reduce the levels of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers(PBDEs) that could be entering the environment. Today’s announcement is just one more example of how our the Government’s Chemicals Management Plan is taking action to protect our environment from harmful chemicals.

“Once again, when it comes to taking action on toxic chemicals, our Government is leading the way,” said Minister Baird. “Right now, we’re taking action to address all PBDEs, and today we are banning those substances that have been identified as an immediate concern to the environment” said Minister Baird.

“The Government of Canada is committed to taking action on chemical substances,” said Minister Clement. “These regulations will achieve real results by minimizing the amount of these substances in our environment.”

PBDEs are used to slow the spread of fire in a wide variety of plastics, fabrics, glues, sealants and foams. While they were not found to be harmful to human health, they are toxic to the environment because they build up and last a long time in the environment.

PBDEs are not manufactured in Canada but are imported for use in commercial and consumer products. There are three commercial mixtures that contain PBDEs: PentaBDE is used mostly in flexible polyurethane foam, which is used as cushioning in upholstered furniture, automotive seating and carpet backing; OctaBDE is used in acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastics as a flame retardant for computer housings, pipes, appliances and automotive parts; DecaBDE is primarily used in the high impact polystyrene component of electronic equipment housings, and is also the main commercial PBDE product used as a flame retardant in upholstery and drapery textiles.

The new regulations will prohibit the manufacture of all PBDEs and restrict the import, use and sale of PentaBDE and OctaBDE which meet the criteria for virtual elimination under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.

The regulations are a first step in mitigating the risk posed by PBDEs in Canada. Additional actions are being developed to complement these Regulations, including: a regulation to control PBDEs already contained in manufactured products; a voluntary approach to minimize releases to the environment from the use of the DecaBDE commercial mixture in manufacturing operations in Canada; a detailed review of newly published science on DecaBDE, to determine if there is a need for further controls on the DecaBDE commercial mixture; and monitoring of Canadians’ exposure to PBDEs and concentrations in the environment.

These actions, collectively, will minimize Canadians’ exposure to PBDEs and help to ensure that Canada’s environment is protected.

For more information on the PBDEs Regulations and further actions to manage PBDEs is available here.

Canada Takes More Action to Protect Human Health and the Environment Under World Leading Chemicals Management Plan

(Health Canada)

The Honourable John Baird, Minister of the Environment, and the Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Health, today [Saturday] announced as part of Canada’s Chemicals Management Plan that eight new chemicals are now deemed to be toxic to human health, and one chemical is deemed toxic to the environment under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), 1999.

The Chemicals Management Plan was announced by Prime Minister Harper in December 2006, making Canada a world leader in assessing and regulating chemicals that are used in thousands of industrial and consumer products.

“When we announced the Chemicals Management Plan in 2006 we made it clear our goal was to protect the health of Canadians from harmful substances,” said Minister Clement. “We identified these substances as a priority for action a year ago and our final assessments have confirmed that eight of these substances are toxic to human health and one is toxic to the environment.”

“Protecting and preserving our environment goes hand in hand with protecting the health of Canadians,” said Minister Baird. “These conclusions are an important step in protecting Canadians and their environment from the long-term harmful effects of chemicals.”

These nine chemicals were part of a batch of 15 chemicals, which were identified last year as high priorities and underwent a full risk assessment.

“Toxic” substances in Batch 1 include: CHPD (Yellow Dye); 1,2-benzenediol and 1,4-benzenediol; Methyl- and ethyloxirane; Toluene diisocyanates (TDIs) – (3 substances); and Naphthalene.

As part of the assessment, information was collected and assessed to determine whether these substances pose a risk to Canadians’ health or the environment and if any further action may be needed to minimize possible risks. The Government required industry and other stakeholders to provide information on specific substances.

Information on this batch of chemicals will be posted in the July 5, 2008 edition of Canada Gazette, Part I, including the data which determined the toxicity of these nine chemicals, and is also available on the Chemical’s Management Web site.

Under the Chemicals Management Plan, the Government has announced a total of six batches of chemicals for assessment. The remaining five batches are still being assessed.